Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Writing Craft: Conflict

Without conflict there is no story, just a news
report.

Boring.

Exciting stories always have conflict. The more conflict,
the better. What does conflict do?it
gives your main character a challenge to overcome. It gives her something to
worry about, think about, react to.

In The Thwarting of Mr. Dingsnapple,
I set up a variety of conflicts for Sweetie to overcome.

Here are some of her conflicts:

Stop
Mr. Dingsnapple from taking her eggs

Outsmart
Cleopatra and Tut to keep them from finding her nest

Struggle
with Cleopatra and Tut after they discover her nest under the porch

Escape
from Mr. Dingsnapple’s cage

I
don’t want to tell the rest, read the book and find them!

Set up a worksheet with the following information on it:

Fill
a page with this chart repeatedly. While
you are brainstorming your story, it will help you identify conflicts and how
each character reacts to it.

Print
out a copy of the page and carry it with you

When
you think of a conflict, jot it on the issue line

If you
fill your page with issues, print another

Go
back and start filling in the details of each issue

Issue:

Main character POV:

Opponent POV:

Arguments:

Action:

Let’s take a look at how it works:

Issue:(Name
the conflict here)

Sweetie
wants to hatch her eggs

Main
character POV:(What is your main character’s Point
Of View on the issue?)

She
is thrilled at the chance to hatch her very first clutch. Hatching her
eggs is the most important thing in her life.

Opponent POV:(This
is the character who opposes, or causes problems for your main character.)

Mr.
Dingsnapple has a chance to make extra money from the sale of the goose
eggs

Cleopatra
and Tut – Mr. Dingsnapple may give them a reward if they show him where
Sweetie is hiding her nest

Arguments:
(Jot down a little information or possibly things the characters
might say)

Mr.
Dingsnapple – Good! Here are four more eggs. I need to gather 100 eggs to
sell within the next couple of months. I can’t let any eggs go.

Sweetie
– if Mr. Dingsnapple takes my eggs, I’ll never have a chance to have
babies!

Cleopatra
and Tut - who does Sweetie think she is? We don’t get to hatch our eggs,
why should she be able to hatch her eggs?Besides, who cares about stupid old eggs, anyway?

Action:(What action happens?) Action
is extremely important.This is
where you jot down the kind of actions your characters will do.

Sweetie
tries to hide her nest

Mr.
Dingsnapple searches the zoo for her nest

Cleopatra
and Tut search for her nest

Once you’ve filled out this form, you can use it as a guide
to flesh out your story.